| Skybook Sold to an Undisclosed Group |
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| Written by Thomas Jensen | |||||||
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Tuesday, 30 January 2007
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 Rumors began to circulate out of Costa Rica on Monday that something was going on at Skybook, the flagship brand of the Rio Group. Several online gambling posting forums were buzzing that Skybook had laid off their entire staff.Online sportsbook watchdog website TheOnlineWire.com broke the news to Point-Spreads.com that Skybook was indeed sold. The new owner has yet to announce the acquisition. The news sent panic to sports bettors already reeling from Pinnacle Sports unexpected exit from the US market. This month alone has been a roller coaster ride for bettors. A few days after Pinnacle Sports announced their departure from the US market, the founders of NETeller were arrested and charged with tax evasion and money laundering. Both Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre are out on bail and have stated they will fight the charges. NETeller left the US market a few days later and other online gambling payment solution providers such as Citadel Commerce followed. Skybook was one of the offshore sportsbook pioneers and has been around since the start of internet betting back in 1997. Their betting lines were among the first to appear on USA Today's Odds board and they were widely considered to be one of the more financially stable operations in the industry with a stellar payout record. For the most part the Rio Group has flown under the radar by focusing on direct mail marketing and internet based initiatives. The only exception to that was when the Las Vegas hotel and casino operator Rio Properties, Inc. sued the Rio Group for infringement on their trademark a few years ago. The court entered a default judgment in favor of the Rio Properties in the case and the Rio Group stopped using urls associated with the name Rio. Point-Spreads.com will continue to cover this ongoing news story about the sale of Skybook.                        |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 30 January 2007 ) | |||||||